TAIPEI, Dec 1, 2015 – A bilateral exchange on the issues of digital convergence was taken place between NCC and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). During the talks, which were held in NCC’s office in Taipei, Mr. Ning Yeh, Director of Department of Legal Affairs of NCC, along with other colleagues exchanged views with Mr. Tan Wen David Hu, Deputy Chief of Strategic Analysis and Negotiations Division of the International Bureau of FCC, as well as officials of Department of State (DOS) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

NCC took the opportunity to inform their American counterparts of the most recent developments of the draft of Digital Convergence Acts, as well as other significant communications policies of the NCC, and to provide updates of the progression of the communications industry in Taiwan. NCC explained how the draft of the acts (also known as the ‘five acts’) has been drawn up with the objective of effectively accommodating convergence of communications, relaxing unnecessary restrictions, and promoting competition. The draft of the five acts will be forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for its consideration.

The representative of the FCC introduced the competition-based regulatory framework, which aims to respond to the development of digital convergence, and highlighted the commitment of FCC to balance between “competition” and “regulation.” FCC also took the opportunity to highlight certain priority policies, such as Open Internet, National Broadband Plan, Number Portability, and Spectrum Auction. In addition, both parties shared views on the purpose and achievements of Universal Service, the development of OTT (Over-the top) services, and the attitudes of the regulators.

After the mutually beneficial discussions, both NCC and FCC acknowledged the importance of learning from the regulatory experiences of each other, and expressed wishes to continue to strengthen the relationship and further cooperation, as to promote effective regulatory policies for convergence and future developments.